


He Didn't Know

by alwaysgocrazy



Category: Stitchers (TV)
Genre: F/M, Happy Ending, Hurt, Long, Love, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-20
Updated: 2015-09-20
Packaged: 2018-04-22 15:38:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4840949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alwaysgocrazy/pseuds/alwaysgocrazy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>**Not related to the finale.</p><p>Kirsten Clark is a very private person. You have to force information out of her. So when Cameron was given information about something private, it was more than hard for him to handle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	He Didn't Know

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO MY SWEET READERS! This piece took me so long to write and probably should've been a multi-chapter thing, but I don't care. It took me so long to write it because I didn't do it as a multi-chapter thing, so lucky for you, no wait for an ending! (And I could've added some serious cliff hangers.) 
> 
> This piece was all completely inspired by an anon on Tumblr who sent me this prompt: What about a fic where Kristen gets kidnapped but with a twist she dying and Cameron's come and can't get her out but in the end they turn out okay.
> 
> There is a VERY happy ending at the end, so I really hope you enjoy!

Kirsten Clark being Kirsten Clark decided it was a brilliant idea to go chase a serial killer that hunted down females with her stature and looks. She explained to the group how it would be perfect bait and that Fisher would be right behind her. What could go wrong?

That’s an easy question to answer. She could get hurt; she could get kidnapped; and the most obvious answer, she could get killed. Cameron, again, for obvious reasons, was not keen on the idea. He pulled her aside to the locker room after the meeting. “Kirsten, you’re fucking crazy if you think I’m going to let you go through with this.”

“I’ll be fine, Cameron. I know why you’re worried, but you know me. I’ll be safe and make it out unscathed. You don’t have to always be concerned with me. I’m a big girl; I can take care of myself.”

Cameron rolled his eyes. “Do you not understand what this mean? You can get _killed_! Does that mean nothing to you?”

She remained quiet for a moment, watching the clock mounted to the wall. Death meant something to her, but the form of death she would receive doing this would be a hell of a lot better than the way she was going to die.

A minute passed and she still hadn’t said anything. Cameron brought her out of her thoughts. “Kirsten, what is it?”

“Nothing. Nothing, it’s fine. I’ll be alright.” She turned and went to her own locker.

“No, no, no, no. Something is wrong. What is it?” Concern filled his eyes.

Kirsten was still quiet. She pulled out blood work results and a folder of scans. “Here. I’m sorry.” She handed the items to Cameron before walking out.

***

Cameron placed the things in his own locker and decided to go over them at home. He opened up the large manila folder to reveal brain scans. He held them up to the light so he could see better. He compared the images to the blood work and felt his heart shatter. “No…” He picked up his cell phone and called Kirsten right away. When she answered, he didn’t wait a second. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m sorry,” she said softly on the other end.

“Kirsten, do you know how bad this is?”

“Yes. The doctors have told me. I had Ayo take a look just to be sure. I’m not stupid.”

“You should’ve come to me! I am a neuroscientist, for crying out loud! Why didn’t you come to me?!”

“Because I didn’t want to worry you and have you react like this. I’m sorry.”

“No. No more ‘sorry-s.’ You shouldn’t have kept this from me.”

“Cameron, I’m sorry. Honestly, I am so, _so_ sorry. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you panicking like this.”

Cameron collapsed onto his couch. He didn’t even realize he was standing and wandering his apartment until that moment. He ran his fingers through his hair. “How long do you have?”

He heard a deep breath on the other line. “Without treatment, maybe six months.”

“And with treatment?”

“A year, maybe two. But they wouldn’t be fun. I’d need chemo, surgery, and who knows what else.”

Cameron shut his eyes tightly. “And that means the Program wouldn’t be in effect either.”

“Right,” she agreed. “Cameron, please tell me you’re not mad.”

“I can’t be mad at you for this, Stretch. If anything, you should be mad at me. I should’ve been more careful and considerate with you while you stitched into people. That’s probably what caused it.”

“No. Ayo did three biopsies on each of the three tumors. None of it was caused by stitching.”

Cameron sighed in relief. At least it wasn’t his fault. That didn’t change the circumstance at all, though. “Does anyone else know?” he asked.

“No.”

He inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself. “Okay…okay. Do you want to come over and talk about the whole thing?” he asked.

“Would you come pick me up?” she asked.

“Yeah, I can do that. I’d be there in about ten minutes.”

“Then, yes, I’d like to come over and talk.”

***

“When’d you find out?” asked Cameron, sitting down on the couch next to Kirsten and handing her a cup of tea.

“About a month ago,” she said softly, sipping on the tea. “I didn’t want to tell you, either, because I wanted to be sure. I didn’t want to worry you over nothing.”

Cameron nodded in understanding. “Thank you.” Kirsten smiled and nodded back. “Does Maggie know?” he asked. She shook her head. “Only Ayo and me?” She nodded. “Who are you seeing for treatment?”

“Cameron, I don’t think I want to get treatment…” she said softly, looking away.

Well, that was a surprise. “Why not? It’ll give you another year. I know time doesn’t make a difference to you, but it does to everyone else. Another year with you would mean everything.”

“I have six healthy months left. If I went through treatment, I’d have to go through chemotherapy, probably at least two surgeries, and who knows what else. And in the oncology ward, most of the patients in the waiting room looked so weak and lifeless. I don’t want my last few months to just be a vegetable. I want to have some meaning, some happiness, some comfort.” She looked up at Cameron. “I-I don’t know what to do, to be honest. Ayo told me it was my choice and my doctor told me to go through treatment.”

He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to lose her, and an extra year would mean everything to him. But then again, she was right. She wouldn’t be as lively as she was now. He sighed heavily before pulled her into his arms. “You could wait it out,” he suggested. “Wait two or three months then decide. From your scans, it seems like you’ve got it. It looks like it might be a level 3, which isn’t as bad as 4 but can be.”

Kirsten sighed into his chest. “I don’t know why this happened…” she admitted softly.

“I don’t either. But you’ll make it. You’re Kirsten Clark, the toughest person I’ve ever met.

She looked up at him with a smile. “I’m not _that_ tough,” she said softly. “I just push limits.” She brushed their noses together. “You promise you won’t tell anyone, right? That this is a secret between me and you?”

Cameron nodded, his eyes closing slowly. “I promise. You can trust me.”

“I know I can.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, her own eyes closed now. “Can I kiss you?” she asked softly.

That was a surprise to Cameron. He never expected those words to come out of Kirsten’s mouth ever, and most certainly not to him. The pause for an answer was long, but he was glad Kirsten wouldn’t know the difference. He finally whispered back, “As long as I can kiss back.”

She smiled and took the chance, kissing him deeply. It was that perfect kiss everyone dreams of. It was gentle, sweet, and deep while also being hot, passionate, and desperate. Cameron’s arms tightened around Kirsten’s waist as they kissed, his right hand gripping her shirt tightly.

After a moment or two, they pulled apart for air. “Thank you,” Kirsten said softly.

“N-no problem,” Cameron stammered, still in a lull. “You don’t have to ask next time.”

“No?” she responded. “Okay.” She pulled him back in for another kiss, this time tugging him down to rest on top of her on the couch.

Minutes of kissing passed before Cameron pulled back. “You okay, Stretch?” he asked, stroking the side of her cheek.

“Fine. I just figured…you know, this may be my last chance to tell you I love you.” She shrugged casually as if it were something she said every day.

Cameron shook his head. “Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. You… _love me_?” he asked in shock and confusion.

“Yes,” she responded simply. “I do. I really do.”

He sat up from the couch. “Give me a second.” No, he wasn’t pulling away because he didn’t love her back. He did love her back, he loved her so much. But with brain tumors came personality changes depending on the location. He pulled out the scans again and looked them over. There were two small tumors in the temporal lobe, potentially affecting her emotions, and one in the frontal lobe, possibly affecting her personality. He couldn’t help but think that was the reason for her feelings towards him. With the tumors being Grade III, it was hard to say how long it took them to form. Maybe they grew recently and contributed to Kirsten’s new emotions, or maybe they grew slowly but now have high chance of spreading, making it unlikely to change. He sighed heavily as he put the scans away. “Are you sure, Kirsten?” he asked.

Kirsten, now sitting up, nodded. “I am. I knew as soon as I stitched into your head. I knew what I was feeling was the same as what you were feeling. I knew it was love. I’ve just…I’ve never had the courage to tell you or talk to you about it.”

Well, that changed a whole lot. He reached over and laced Kirsten’s fingers with his own. “I want you to hear it from me, _live_ me. I love you. I love you more than what you probably even sensed in my memories.” He stroked the back of her hand gently. “Now, hear me out. The tumors are in your temporal and frontal lobes. Those control your personality and emotion. I mean, they do a lot more than that, but those are part of their functions. I want you to be absolutely, one hundred percent sure that this is _you_ talking, not the tumors. Is it you, Kirsten?”

She thought for a moment, looking down. Cameron wished he could know what was going through her head. He might just have to sit there for a while and wait for Kirsten to speak because of her lack of time understanding. He began to think how those two lobes were probably easy targets for cancer to form. The car accident she was in when she was eight damaged them most significantly.

“It’s me.”

Cameron was lost in thought at that point, trying to figure out the how’s and why’s. He looked up at Kirsten. “What?” He had forgotten the question.

“It’s me talking. Not the tumors, it’s me. You want to know how I know?”

“Sure.”

“I don’t feel differently about anyone else. And I immediately felt different when I met you. If the tumors were affecting my emotions or personality, don’t you think I might be in love with Linus or Camille or Fisher or somebody else too? I mean, Cameron, let’s be straight here. There’s some sort of chemistry between us. I feel different around you.”

Cameron smiled kindly at her. “Well, I have to say I feel differently about you too. I feel something that I can’t really even explain.”

Kirsten nodded and then there was a silence. It wasn’t awkward, but it wasn’t comfortable either. Cameron reached over and grabbed her hand. “We don’t have to have this all figured out right this second. We can go talk over dinner,” he suggested. “My treat.”

“Would it be a date?” she asked.

“If you want it to be.”

She smiled and nodded. “I’d like that.”

***

Four months had passed since that first date. The whole “Let me chase the serial killer!” thing didn’t fly with Cameron after gaining the knowledge, so luckily, nothing happened. Now, only Maggie, Camille, and Linus know about Kirsten’s situation. The rest of the team is in the dark. No matter who told her what to do, Kirsten refused treatment.

That was the case until today. She had been lying in Cameron’s bed for the past three days in just pure pain. Cameron was doing the best he could to take care of her, but she was nearing the end of the line. Things were getting bad. He came in with an ice pack for her head. “I know you don’t want treatment, but it could do you good. The tumors haven’t spread since the beginning, which is good. But they keep growing. The doctors can remove them or treat you with radiation and give you back the rest of your life.” He placed the moldable ice pack gently on her forehead.

Kirsten only groaned in annoyance. “Will it really help though, Cameron? Would I really be cured? Or will I just die in worse pain?”

He sighed and pulled her into his arms. “It can go either way. And either way, I’ll be with you. I won’t leave your side. Never.”

She nuzzled her face into his chest. “Maybe we should go see the doctor…” she said softly. “For pain meds.” Cameron looked down at her and she felt his stare. “And treatment options…” she added softly. She knew that’s what would be best.

Cameron smiled kindly at her. He reached over into his nightstand and grabbed a little velvet box. He was glad Kirsten’s eyes were still closed. He slid it into his pocket before rocking her again. “I’ll see if you can go in today.” Once she nodded, he laid her down on his bed and tucked her in. “Love you,” he whispered with a kiss.

“Love you too…” she mumbled back.

He walked out of the room and called the doctor’s office. Luckily, there was an appointment at three. He took it, and the couple arrived ten minutes early, partially because Cameron thought that maybe they could get in earlier. It didn’t help. They sat in the waiting room for an hour, clearly not making any difference to Kirsten, but driving Cameron insane. Three o’clock means three o’clock, not probably three. He felt bad for Kirsten; he could see how much pain she was in.

Finally, they were called in. They sat down in the chairs provided in front of the doctor’s desk.

“Kirsten, pleasure to see you again,” the doctor said as he extended his hand. She shook it. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Dr. James Wilson.” His hand moved towards Cameron, who in return shook it.

“Dr. Cameron Goodkin,” he smiled.

“Doctor? What kind?” asked Dr. Wilson.

“Neuroscientist, actually. I work with Kirsten,” he explained

“Can we get to talking about me instead of you two nerding out over being doctors?” asked Kirsten in irritation.

“Yes, yes. Sorry. So, I was looking over your file. I know we just ran some more scans last month, but a lot can change in that time. I want to do another MRI and CT scan. Those’ll give us as accurate of a picture as possible before we make any major decisions,” said Wilson.

Kirsten groaned. “What are those treatments, exactly?” she asked, resting her head on Cameron’s shoulder.

“Well, if the tumors are still malignant, then radiation would be first. Then, I would probably have a craniotomy scheduled for you to remove the tumors, then another round of radiation just to be sure. That was the original plan, and that’s what seems to be the best.”

She nodded. “Can we just get started?” she asked. “You know, with radiation treatment?”

Dr. Wilson took a deep breath. “Get the scans done tomorrow and we can probably start treatment next week.”

Another nod. “Anything you can give me for the headaches I have?”

“I’ll prescribe some strong pain killers.” He scribbled on a small pad before signing it. “Here you go. That should help.”

“Thank you.” She took the paper before standing. “I schedule all the appointments at the front, right?”

Wilson nodded as he stood as well. “Yes. I’ll walk you two out.” He guided the couple out to the receptionist while also grabbing his next patient.

Kirsten showed the nurse the prescription. “Do I just take this to any pharmacy, or do I have to get it filled here?” she asked.

“Any pharmacy should fill it. Do you want to make another appointment?” asked the nurse sweetly.

“No, no. Just checking. Thank you,” responded Kirsten before walking away.

Cameron, completely confused, turned and grabbed her, pulling her aside. “Wait, don’t you want to schedule your scans for tomorrow? And then an appointment to analyze them and start treatment?” he asked, his hand still around her arm.

She sighed softly. “Cameron, I just wanted medicine. I don’t want treatment. I’d rather die comfortably and stoned rather than in agony and feeling sick.”

“But…but, you seemed ready. I thought—”

“You thought wrong, Cameron. I’m sorry I mislead you.” She stroked his cheek gently.

“Please, Kirsten.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her away. “Please, _please_ , just get the scans done and then decide. Maybe things are better. Maybe you have a higher chance of survival. Maybe…maybe there’s more option. Please, Kirsten, you don’t know how much I need you.”

Kirsten sighed, looking down. “I-I’m sorry, Cameron…” she said softly. “I-I don’t want treatment. I’m going to die. Nothing will change that.”

“Has the doc, point blank, tell you that you were terminal? That there was no chance the treatment would work?”

She thought for a moment. “No…” she admitted. “But he said chances are slim. He said that it would most likely only extend my life, not actually save it. But, no, he never said I was completely terminal.”

“Okay! So, give treatment a chance. Please, Kirsten. If anything, it’ll give us more time to be together.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Okay. Only for you,” she whispered, pecking his lips. She walked back over to the receptionist, making an appointment for the next day at nine.

Cameron walked them out to the car and opened Kirsten’s door for her. He didn’t close it and he saw the confusion in Kirsten’s eyes. “This probably isn’t the best time to do this, and you’ll probably kill me after. But I want to and don’t care how you react.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” she asked dryly.

Cameron bent down to one knee. “I love you. I’ve told you that many times before.” He grabbed her hands with a smile. “I know it might seem like it, but I don’t want to make your decision because of me. I want you to be content with how you leave this world. I don’t want you to feel guilty because you’d be leaving me and everyone else behind. We understand, Kirsten, we really do. It’s not easy. I want you to be mine for however long that is, though. I know that. So, uh…” He reached into his pocket and grabbed the box he placed in it before they left. “Will you marry me? Spend the rest of your life with me?”

Kirsten took a deep breath, just on the verge of crying. “Cameron…” she murmured, resting her head against his. “Of course I will.” She kissed the tip of his nose gently. “I love you too much to say no.”

Cameron grinned and kissed her lips. “You’re not doing this out of pity, right?” he asked softly.

Kirsten sighed a laugh. “No, of course not.” She kissed him again. “I really do love you. I was the one who kinda started this relationship, remember?” she teased. “You want to go get married now?” she suggested.

And that’s exactly what they did. They left the hospital and went straight to the courthouse, marrying each other in the clothes on their back. They went home and simply watched Netflix. It was a relaxing, romantic evening. Cameron dropped off the prescription for the pain meds then picked it up a few hours later. Not only did it help Kirsten’s headache, it put her to sleep. Granted, she hadn’t had a full night’s rest in probably a week, but she was out within an hour.

***

The scans were completed, and today was the day for them to go back to Dr. Wilson to discuss options. It had been about a week since Kirsten got the scans done and she seemed to be doing better with the pain killers. Cameron noticed that she was always thinking, like something was nagging at her brain. He’d try to bring it up in conversation and ask her, but she never answered. It was always something vague or, “It doesn’t matter.” He figured he’d give her space and wait until after this appointment.

Dr. Wilson shook their hands with a smile. “I’m glad you’re back, Kirsten. I want to show you your scans as we talk about treatment. That okay?” he asked.

Kirsten nodded and they all turned their attention to the large, see through papers. Cameron examined them closely and squeezed Kirsten’s hand gently. It looked like there was potential for surgical removal, which is exactly what the doc said.

“So, as you can see, the tumors haven’t grown too much since we last checked. They seem to be growing much slower than before. It’s really great, to be honest with you. Most people hit Stage III or Stage IV and it doesn’t stop. You? Your case is special, Ms. Clark.” He smiled kindly at her as he walked back to his seat. “So, here’s what we can do. I think the best approach is to go with radiation therapy first. This is just to stop growth in the cells and try to get rid of the cancer that way. Chances are, that won’t be enough. I’d refer you to the neurosurgeon I trust with all my patients. If anyone can cure cancer, it’s him. He would perform a craniotomy on you to remove the tumors and make sure there isn’t anything else that we’re not picking up on the scans. If that all goes well, you should be in remission. If something happens and for some reason the cancer isn’t all killed and taken care of, then we could do another round of radiation and go from there.”

Kirsten took a deep breath. “Okay…” she murmured softly in agreement.

Cameron’s head jerked towards her in shock. Is that what she had been thinking about all week? How could he have been so stupid! Of course that’s what she was thinking about! He squeezed her hand gently. “Kirsten, y-you don’t have to do this because of me…” he said softly.

“Cameron, make up your mind. Last week, all you wanted was for me to go through with treatment. Now that I am, you’re saying no? I don’t understand. Which do you want?” she snapped.

“I-I’m sorry. Like I told you, don’t do what I want, do what you want.”

“This _is_ what I want. I want to grow old with you. I want to have kids with you. I want to have a full life with you. If going through with treatment is the only way that could _possibly_ happen, then I’m doing it.”

Cameron looked into her eyes, seeing how genuine she was. He could tell she meant every word. He smiled slightly. “Okay. Then go through treatment.”

***

Kirsten went through a month of radiation therapy. She had to go in almost every day and get blasted with radiation straight to her head. It was always awkward, but never lasted more than fifteen minutes. Cameron was always there with her in the protective room and was able to speak to him through a mic. It really did help. She always felt more comfortable and like he was guiding her through it, just like he did when she stitched into people.

She was scheduled for another MRI to see the tumors. Dr. Wilson decided it would be best to do a craniotomy because of the minimal effect of radiation. Also, Kirsten was tired of her itching and peeling skin. At one point, Cameron had to put oven mitts on her hands just to keep her from scratching, as if she had the chicken pox. Luckily, a dermatologist gave her some special lotion to help.

Now, Kirsten was lying in a hospital bed and being prepped for surgery. Cameron sat in the chair next to her. He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb gently. “You okay?” he asked, probably more nervous than she was.

“I’m fine. I’ll come back to you, don’t worry,” she assured with a smiled. She squeezed his hand gently. “Thank you for shaving my head. I’m glad it was you and not a strange doctor.”

The night before, Cameron got out his clippers and did it. He was going to shave his own head, but Kirsten refused to let him. She said his hair was too perfect and she would never forgive him if he did. Hair had been falling out, anyway, just for the sheer about of damage her scalp was getting from the radiation. She would wear a hat into work every day and carefully pull her hair into a ponytail, hoping a big chunk wouldn’t fall out.

Now, she was simply bald. She reached over and fingered through Cameron’s hair gently. He rested into her hand and played with the fingers on her other hand. “It’s not a problem. I was honored,” he said with a smiled.

A nurse came in and interrupted them. “You ready to go?” she asked sweetly.

Cameron sat up only to be brought back down by Kirsten. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. It could be their last kiss ever; they both knew that. They made it as meaningful as possible. When they parted, Kirsten whispered, “I’m going to be okay. I love you.”

“Love you too,” he whispered back. He kissed her lips gently again. “I’ll be here waiting for you, okay? I’ll be the first one you see when you wake up. I’ll force Linus and Camille and Maggie out of the room,” he teased.

She smiled. “Okay. I love you, Cameron. I really love you.” She kissed him gently again before letting go.

He kissed back. “I love you so much. Now, go kick cancer’s ass.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead before standing.

Nurses wheeled Kirsten’s bed out, leaving Cameron alone in the room.

***

Time couldn’t go slower for Cameron. He paced around the waiting room anxiously for three hours while Kirsten was in surgery. Linus and Camille tried to calm him, but nothing worked. His hands were shaky as he waited for some sort of news. Finally, a nurse came out to talk to the crew.

***

The pain was excruciating. How could it not be? Everything hurt, everything ached. The heart monitor beeped slowly. That was the only noise in the entire room.

_Beep…Beep…Beep…_

She was afraid to open her eye. She was afraid that something bad was going to happen if she did. She was afraid that she might have some sort of out-of-body experience and see all her friends crying because of her. She was afraid that she might “see the light.” She was terrified.

But then she felt a squeeze on her hand. She turned her head slightly to the left and peeked open her eyes. The light did blind her at first, but she adjusted quickly.

And there he was. Her prince charming, her knight in shining armor, her one true love, her _husband_.

“Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” he whispered, leaning in closer and bring up one hand to stroke her face. “You pulled through.”

She smiled slightly. “I…I told you…” She closed her eyes again. She knew she was okay; Cameron was right there by her side.

She heard him chuckle softly. “I know you did.” He kissed her cheek gently “You want to know something amazing?”

“Hmm…?” she hummed.

“You’re in remission.”

Her eyes widened. “R-really…?” she smiled.

He nodded. “Yeah. The treatments worked.” He kissed her forehead gently. “You’ve been out for a couple days now, but only because they wanted to make sure you were okay. They just lightened up on the coma juice but increased the morphine, so you should be good.”

Kirsten rested her head on Cameron’s hand. “That’s…that is amazing…” she murmured.

Cameron nodded. “I know. Now we can have that life you want. The one where we grow old, have kids, and live a full life.”

She nodded back. “Yes…” She squeezed his hand gently. “I-I can’t move too much, so…so, will you kiss me?”

He laughed softly. “Of course.” So he leaned in and kissed her, just like their last kiss. It was just as deep, just as passionate, and just as meaningful. “I love you, Kirsten,” he whispered as they broke apart. “I love you so, so, _so_ much.”

“I love you, too, Cameron,” she smiled. “I’m glad you encouraged treatment.”

Cameron shrugged. “What can I say? I don’t want a life without you.”

She pulled him back in for another kiss. “You’re such a dork.”

“I know. But I’m your dork.”

***

Kirsten stayed in remission for over a year. The cancer, luckily, never came back. She still went in for yearly checkups just to be one hundred percent sure.

She and Cameron had a big wedding about two years later. Kirsten’s hair had grown back out since then, and the Stitchers Program had blossomed into something even more significant. They had two kids: Olivia and Jessup, two years apart. They lived a happy, full life, growing old together.

“What do you think your life would be like if I never got treatment?” asked Kirsten as she and Cameron sat on their front porch and watched their grandkids play in the yard.

“To be honest? I don’t think I would anywhere near as happy as I am now. I’d probably still be visiting your grave and be isolated. But I don’t want to think about that,” he said, reaching over to hold her hand. “I’m just glad you did.”

She smiled at him. “You’re ridiculous,” she teased.

Cameron shrugged. “Maybe I am, but I don’t care. I love you too much to care.”

She rolled her eyes and kissed the back of his hand. “Go get the kids and tell them to clean up; dinner is almost ready.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so, so, so very much for reading!
> 
> Kudos, comments, and critiques are always welcomed and greatly appreciated!


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